1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cleaner for use in nursing care and more particularly to a cleaner for use in nursing care which is used to clean the bodies of nursing care patients such as elderly persons, invalids, etc.
2. Prior Art
For nursing care providers who provide nursing care to elderly persons or invalids, etc., constantly maintaining the cleanliness of nursing care patients such as elderly persons or invalids, etc., is an extremely bothersome task. One method that is commonly used in cases where nursing care patients cannot use the toilet under their own power is a method using diapers. In this case, the caregiver must appropriately change the diapers of the nursing care patients. In cases where the nursing care patient's body is soiled during this changing, the body is cleaned by wiping the body with a towel, etc. However, in the case of such a method in which the body is wiped with a towel, etc., the body is often not completely cleaned; in such cases, it is necessary to rinse the body with warm water, or in some cases to rinse the body by placing the patient in a bath.
Thus, in nursing care provided to elderly persons and invalids, etc., a great deal of effort is expended in the work of disposing of excretory products and cleaning of the patient's bodies. Accordingly, various devices have been proposed with the aim of lightening the labor required in such nursing care work. For example, devices in which warm water (cleaning water) is sprayed on the nursing care patient's body, and the body is cleaned by removing the sprayed water by suction, have been proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (Kokai) No. 9-23425, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (Kokai) No. 11-19603 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (Kokai) No. 2000-51313, etc. In these devices, warm water can be sprayed directly onto contaminated areas of the body, so that these areas are rinsed; accordingly, excretory products adhering to the body can be cleanly removed, so that the body can easily be cleaned.
In devices that remove contaminants from the body by spraying the body with warm water, the spray nozzle is installed concentrically with a suction pipe; such devices are constructed so that warm water is sprayed from the spray nozzle, and the warm water thus sprayed is removed by vacuum suction that is applied from the suction port of the suction pipe. Such devices are equipped with a warm-water tank that supplies the warm water, and a contaminated-water tank in which the contaminated water that is removed by suction is collected. Accordingly, since problems are created if the contaminated water overflows from the contaminated-water tank, a water amount gauge is installed in the contaminated-water tank so that the amount of contaminated water can be detected; furthermore, such devices are constructed so that cleaning of the contaminated-water tank is facilitated, and the devices are made portable so that handling is facilitated.